Collection: Policies

PRESERVATION OF THE COLLECTION

The conservation plan follows general guidelines for the entire work, including controlled, monitored, and stable temperature and humidity conditions, smoke detection, fire prevention measures, and weekly inspections of the exhibited work by the museum's conservation team.

These measures are accompanied by a 24-hour physical and video surveillance plan.

Paintings and sculptures are described morphologically after being inspected one by one, which allows a report on the condition of the work to be drawn up when it enters the collection. The works are recorded in the collection database, which records the state of conservation of each piece.

In the case of photographs, depending on the characteristics of the process, type of paper, type of emulsion, and state of preservation, the items undergo physical cleaning and are stored in individual Mylar envelopes. Each photograph is assigned a registration number andstored in fire-enameled trays or acid-free containers.

When cataloguing the pieces, their condition is noted in a specific field for reference purposes (good, fair, or poor). When a work is loaned for an exhibition, a complete condition report is prepared before it leaves the museum, noting the condition of the work, and high-resolution photographs are taken to document its condition. We currently have condition reports for 805 works.

CRITERIA AND HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF COLLECTION GROWTH

This photography collection is a living collection, still growing. 

The strategic lines of development for the collection focus, on the one hand, on completing research into the development of photographic technique from its origins to the present day; and, on the other, on promoting contemporary art and creation. 

1. Through the program called "Building Bridges," inherited from the Photography Fund and launched in 2002, visual artists are invited to develop their own projects with the support of the collection and exhibition department. The project is included in the editorial line of the same name. 

Since 2016, performing artists have also had access to an artist residency program inspired by the collection and included in the "Cuadernos de Creación" (Creation Notebooks) collection. 

The purpose of both programs is to create contemporary works based on historical pieces preserved in the Museum. Various contemporary artists of national and international renown have been invited to carry out a personal reflection, a project of their own in dialogue with key pieces of universal photography contained in the Museum's collection.

International photographers such as Roland Fischer, Lynne Cohen, Gabriele Basilico, and Luis González Palma have participated in this program, as well as Spanish photographers such as Manuel Brazuelo,Jorge Ribalta, María Bleda and José María Rosa, Joan Fontcuberta, and Javier Vallhonrat, and Navarran photographers such as Ángel Fuentes, Carlos Cánovas, and Carlos Irijalba. A total of 35 visual artists and 13 performing artists have participated in these programs to date, enriching the museum's collection.

2. Alongside these programs, we find the traditional ways of adding pieces to the collection by acquiring works on the market, either directly from artists or from galleries or auction houses. The Museum does not have a fixed annual budget for purchasing works, but rather decides on its acquisitions based on the collection's development strategy.

3. The Museum carries out crowdfunding campaigns that enable the acquisition of new pieces.

4. The rest of the artistic additions come to the Museum through donations from people linked to the arts who wish to contribute to the research, teaching, and dissemination work carried out by the institution. 

LOAN OF COLLECTIONS

The University of Navarra Museum is an open museum that maintains constant contact with other national and international art centers.

Since its opening in 2015,it has collaborated by lending its collections to exhibition projects produced by other museums and institutions, including : IVAM, ARTIUM, Museo Esteban Vicente, Museo Bellas Artes de Bilbao, MACBA, CAAM, MNCARS, MNAC, Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain, Maison de Patrimoine, Hôtel de Sully, Instituto Cervantes, Saint Louis Art Museum, Museo Balenciaga, and The Israel Museum.

The requesting institution is asked to provide a facility report and is checked to ensure that it meets the environmental, physical, and security criteria for exhibiting the requested items. If it does not meet these criteria, the loan is denied. If the items requested for exhibition are photographs, facsimile reproductions are offered. These reproductions are made under the supervision of the team responsible for the collection and are returned to the Museum after the exhibition.

In turn, the Museum has its own facility report that is provided to institutions that request loans of works.

Loans for construction projects made in each fiscal year are included in the corresponding annual report.